WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Friday that he will nominate former Federal Reserve official Kevin Warsh to be the next chair of the Fed, a decision likely to result in sharp changes to the powerful agency that could bring it closer to the White House.
If approved by the Senate, Warsh would replace current chair Jerome Powell when his term expires in May. Trump chose Powell to lead the Fed in 2017 but this year has relentlessly assailed him for not cutting interest rates quickly enough.
“I have known Kevin for a long period of time, and have no doubt that he will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best,” Trump posted on social media. “On top of everything else, he is ‘central casting,’ and he will never let you down.”
The appointment, which requires Senate confirmation, amounts to a return trip for Warsh, 55, who was a member of the Fed’s board from 2006 to 2011. He was the youngest governor in history when he was appointed at age 35. He is currently a fellow at the right-leaning Hoover Institution and a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
In some ways, Warsh is an unlikely choice for the Republican president because he has long been a hawk in Fed parlance, or someone who typically supports higher interest rates to control inflation. Trump, by contrast, has said the Fed’s key rate should be as low as 1%, a level few economists endorse, and far below its current level of about 3.6%.
During his time as governor, Warsh objected to some of the low-interest rate policies that the Fed pursued during and after the 2008-09 Great Recession. He also often expressed concern at that time that inflation would soon accelerate, even though it remained at rock-bottom levels for many years after that recession ended.
More recently, however, in speeches and opinion columns, Warsh has voiced support for lower rates.
Financial markets reacted in ways that suggest investors expect that Warsh could keep rates a bit higher over time. The dollar and yields on long-term U.S. Treasurys rose, although that moderated a bit.
The 10-year yield is at 4.26%, up from 4.23% Thursday. U.S. stock futures saw losses of around 0.5%. The biggest moves were in the suddenly volatile metals markets, where gold dropped more than 5% and silver sank more than 13%.
In Congress, Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who is retiring, reiterated in a social media post that he will oppose Warsh’s nomination until a Justice Department investigation into Powell is resolved.
Tillis is a member of the Senate Banking Committee, which will consider Warsh’s nomination.
He added that Warsh is a “qualified nominee” but stressed that “protecting the independence of the Federal Reserve from political interference or legal intimidation is non-negotiable.”
Tillis’s opposition could complicate the confirmation process. Asked late Thursday whether Warsh could be confirmed without Tillis’s support, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said, “Probably not.”
Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, the highest-ranking Democrat on the Banking Committee, said, “This nomination is the latest step in Trump’s attempt to seize control of the Fed.”
Warsh beat out several other candidates, including Trump’s top economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, investment manager Rick Rieder, and current Fed governor Christopher Waller.
Controlling the Fed
Warsh’s appointment could be a major step toward Trump asserting more control over the Fed, one of the few remaining independent federal agencies. While all presidents influence Fed policy through appointments, Trump’s rhetorical attacks on the central bank have raised concerns about its status as an independent institution.
The announcement comes after an extended and unusually public search that underscored the importance of the decision to Trump and the potential impact it could have on the economy. The chair of the Federal Reserve is one of the most powerful economic officials in the world, tasked with combating inflation in the United States while also supporting maximum employment.
The Fed is also the nation’s top banking regulator.
The Fed’s rate decisions, over time, influence borrowing costs throughout the economy, including for mortgages, car loans, and credit cards.
For now, Warsh would likely fill a seat on the Fed’s governing board that was temporarily occupied by Stephen Miran, a White House adviser whom Trump appointed in September. Once on the board, Trump could then elevate Warsh to the chair position when Powell’s term ends in May.
Trump has sought to exert more control over the Fed. In August he tried to fire Lisa Cook, one of seven governors on the Fed’s board, in an effort to secure a majority of the board. Cook, however, sued to keep her job, and the Supreme Court, in a hearing last week, appeared inclined to let her stay in her position while her suit is resolved.
Powell revealed this month that the Fed had been subpoenaed by the Justice Department about his congressional testimony on a $2.5 billion building renovation. Powell said the subpoenas were “pretexts” to force the Fed to cut rates.
Trump’s economic policies
Since Trump’s reelection, Warsh has expressed support for the president’s economic policies, despite a history as a more conventional, pro-free trade Republican.
In a January 2025 column in the Wall Street Journal, Warsh praised Trump’s deregulatory policies and potential spending cuts, which he said would help bring down inflation. Lower inflation would allow the Fed to deliver the rate cuts the president wants.
Trump had said he would appoint a Fed chair who will cut interest rates to lower the government’s borrowing costs and bring down mortgage rates, though the Fed doesn’t decide those costs directly.
In December, he wrote on social media of the need for lower borrowing costs and said, “Anyone who disagrees with me will never be the Fed chairman!”
Potential challenges and pushback
Warsh would face challenges in pushing interest rates much lower. The chair is just one member of the Fed’s 19-person rate-setting committee, with 12 of those officials voting on each rate decision. The committee is already split between those worried about persistent inflation, who’d like to keep rates unchanged, and those who think that recent upticks in unemployment point to a stumbling economy that needs lower interest rates to bolster hiring.
Financial markets could also push back. If the Fed cuts its short-term rate too aggressively and is seen as doing so for political reasons, then Wall Street investors could sell Treasury bonds out of fear that inflation would rise. Such sales would push up longer-term interest rates, including mortgage rates, and backfire on Warsh.
Trump considered appointing Warsh as Fed chair during his first term, though ultimately he went with Powell. Warsh’s father-in-law is Ronald Lauder, heir to the Estee Lauder cosmetics fortune and a longtime donor and confidant of Trump’s.
Warsh in recent years has become harshly critical of the Fed, calling for “regime change” and assailing Powell for engaging on issues like climate change and diversity, equity and inclusion, which Warsh said are outside the Fed’s mandate.
His more critical approach suggests that if he does ascend to the position of chair, it would amount to a sharp transition at the Fed.
In a July interview on CNBC, Warsh said Fed policy “has been broken for quite a long time.”
“The central bank that sits there today is radically different than the central bank I joined in 2006,” he added. By allowing inflation to surge in 2021-22, the Fed “brought about the greatest mistake in macroeconomic policy in 45 years, that divided the country.”
A New Jersey appellate court on Friday declined to reinstate racketeering charges against Democratic power broker George E. Norcross III, dealing a fresh blow to prosecutors who had accused him of running a criminal enterprise.
The three-judge panel affirmed a lower court order dismissing a 13-count indictment against Norcross, 69, and five codefendants, whom a grand jury alleged used threats of economic and reputational harm — as well as their control of Camden government — to obtain property on the city’s waterfront from a developer and a nonprofit.
Acting Attorney General Jennifer Davenport — Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s nominee for the post — will now have to decide whether to file another appeal in a case that was brought by her predecessor. A spokesperson said the Attorney General’s Office is reviewing the opinion, which says the state has 45 days to pursue an appeal at the state Supreme Court.
Mercer County Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw ruled last February that none of the threats described in the June 2024 indictment were unlawful because, he said, state law permits such statements in the context of economic bargaining. Warshaw also found the charges were time-barred.
On Friday, the appellate court in a 92-page opinionupheld Warshaw’s order but did so on different legal grounds. The panel said several of the indictment’s racketeering conspiracy and extortion charges were time-barred under the statute of limitations. Other counts failed to state a crime, were untimely, or both, the panel said.
Norcross’ representatives didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
In addition to Norcross — founder of insurance brokerage Conner Strong & Buckelew and chair of Cooper University Health Care — the grand jury charged his brother Philip, CEO of the law firm Parker McCay; attorney William Tambussi; former Camden Mayor Dana L. Redd; Sidney R. Brown, CEO of logistics firm NFI; and John J. O’Donnell, an executive at residential developer The Michaels Organization.
Statute of limitations
The case centers on Norcross’ efforts to acquire real estate in Camden following a 2013 New Jersey law he allegedly shaped that turbocharged corporate tax incentives for development in a city that had faced decades of disinvestment.
Prosecutors say that from 2014 through 2016, Norcross and his associates threatened a nonprofit redevelopment group and Philadelphia developer Carl Dranoff, coercing them into selling property for less money than they believed it was worth.
Norcross and his partners then used the properties to obtain millions of dollars in state tax credits for various corporate entities and later sold the credits for cash, the state says.
In contrast to the lower court judge, the appeals panel did not weigh whether the threats allegedly made in 2014 and 2016 were unlawful. Instead, the panel said the charges associated with those threats — racketeering and extortion conspiracies — were filed by prosecutors beyond the five-year statute of limitations.
To comply with that statute, prosecutors needed to show that the conspiracies outlined in the June 2024 indictment continued past 2019. The state contended that it met this burden because corporate entities controlled by Norcross continued to receive tax credits during that period and because the indictment says the power broker took steps to conceal his conduct in the years since.
But the appellate panel agreed with Warshaw that “the objects of the conspiracies were concluded” with the completion of the redevelopment deals years earlier.
The court also rejected the concealment argument, saying the indictment does not meet a legal requirement alleging an “agreement among the conspirators to continue to act in concert in order to cover up, for their own self-protection, traces of the crime.”
Dealings with Carl Dranoff
The appeals court did find that another charge related to waterfront real estate dealings was timely, but failed to satisfy other legal requirements.
When Dranoff in 2018 tried to sell the 349-apartment Victor Lofts to a real estate investment firm for $71 million, the indictment says he faced resistance from Camden officials. They agreed to “slow down” a government approval at the direction of Philip Norcross — an attorney who, like his brother, had no official role in city government, the indictment says.
The sale ultimately fell through, and the city moved to terminate Dranoff’s option to develop another property known as Radio Lofts. The dispute led to years of litigation, and Dranoff ultimately settled with the city in 2023, agreeing to forfeit his rights to Radio Lofts and pay Camden $3.3 million despite believing “he was in the right,” according to the indictment.
Prosecutors allege this was another conspiracy to extort Dranoff. But while the alleged conduct occurred within the limitations period, the appeals panel said, the indictment failed to meet the legal requirements for alleging conspiracy to commit extortion. For example, neither George Norcross nor his codefendants were accused of threatening or planning to threaten Dranoff to settle, the panel said.
Serving on the panel were Appellate Judges Greta Gooden Brown, Lisa Rose and Ellen Torregrossa-O’Connor.
Shirley Raines, a social media creator and nonprofit founder who dedicated her life to caring for people experiencing homelessness, has died, her organization Beauty 2 The Streetz said Wednesday. She was 58.
Ms. Raines was known as “Ms. Shirley,” to her more than 5 million TikTok followers and to the people who regularly lined up for the food, beauty treatments, and hygiene supplies she brought to Los Angeles’ Skid Row and other homeless communities in California and Nevada.
Ms. Raines’ life made an “immeasurable impact,” Beauty 2 The Streetz wrote on social media.
“Through her tireless advocacy, deep compassion, and unwavering commitment, she used her powerful media platform to amplify the voices of those in need and to bring dignity, resources, and hope to some of the most underserved populations,” the organization said.
Ms. Raines’ cause of death was not released, but the organization said it would share additional information when it is available.
Ms. Raines had six children. One son died as a toddler — an experience that left her a “very broken woman,” Ms. Raines said in 2021 when she was named CNN’s Hero of the Year.
“It’s important you know that broken people are still very much useful,” she said during the CNN award ceremony.
That deep grief led her to begin helping homeless people.
“I would rather have him back than anything in the world, but I am a mother without a son, and there are a lot of people in the street that are without a mother,” she said. “And I feel like it’s a fair exchange — I’m here for them.”
Ms. Raines began working with homeless communities in 2017. On Monday, Ms. Raines posted a video shot from inside her car as she handed out lunches to a line of people standing outside her passenger window. She greeted her clients with warm enthusiasm and respect, calling them “King,” or “Queen.”
One man told her he was able to get into an apartment.
“God is good! Look at you!” Ms. Raines replied, her usual cheerfulness stepping up a notch. In a video posted two weeks earlier, she handed her shoes to a barefoot child who was waiting for a meal, protecting the girl’s feet from the chilly asphalt.
California’s homelessness crisis is especially visible in downtown Los Angeles, where hundreds of people live in makeshift shanties that line entire blocks in the notorious neighborhood known as Skid Row. Tents regularly pop up on the pavement outside City Hall. Encampments are increasingly found in suburban areas under freeway overpasses. A 2025 survey found that about 72,000 people were homeless on any given night across Los Angeles County.
Crushow Herring, the art director of the Sidewalk Project, said Ms. Raines was both sentimental and protective of the homeless community. The Sidewalk Project uses art and peer empowerment programs to help people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles.
“I’ve been getting calls all morning from people, not just who live in Skid Row but Angelenos who are shocked” by Ms. Raines’ death, Herring said. “To see the work she did, and how people couldn’t wait to see her come out? It was a great mission. What most people need is just feeling dignity about themselves, because if they look better, they feel better.”
Ms. Raines would often give people on the street a position working with her as she provided haircuts or handed out goods, Herring said.
“By the time a year or two goes by, they’re part of the organization — they have responsibility, they have something to look forward to,” he said. “She always had people around her that were motivational, and generous and polite to community members.”
Melissa Acedera, founder of Polo’s Pantry, recalled joining Raines every Saturday to distribute food when Beauty 2 The Streetz was first getting started. Ms. Raines remembered people’s birthdays and took special care to reach out to transgender and queer people who were often on the outskirts of Skid Row, she added.
“It’s hard not to think of Shirley when I’m there,” Acedera said.
In 2025, Ms. Raines was named the NAACP Image Award Winner for Outstanding Social Media Personality. Other social media creators lauded her work and shared their own grief online Wednesday.
“Ms. Shirley was truly the best of us, love incarnate,” wrote Alexis Nikole Nelson, a foraging educator and social media creator known as “blackforager.”
It remains a long shot that a fresh layer of frosting will coat the hardening and tenacious snowpack, but evidently that street-congesting frozen mass isn’t exiting in the near future.
As of Friday morning, it appeared that a potent coastal storm that is expected to qualify as a meteorological “bomb” was going to spare the Philadelphiaregion from another snowfall.
But it is expected to have serious impacts on the New Jersey and Delaware beaches, with a combination of onshore gales and a tide-inciting full moon, forecasters are warning.
On the mainland, it is poised to generate winds that would add sting to what has been one of the region’s most significant outbreaks of Arctic air in the period of record.
Lows at Philadelphia International Airport both Thursday and Friday mornings — 13 and 11, respectively — were several degrees above what was forecast.
But they are to drop into single digits Saturday morning, and flirt with a record. Wind chills during the weekend are expected be in the 10-below range, said Mike Silva, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Mount Holly.
“Even though there might not be much or any snow in Philly,” he said, “it’s going to be cold, and we’re still going to have the wind impacts.”
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But “it wouldn’t take much of a jog west to really mess up the forecast,” said Tom Kines, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc. It’s been known to happen.
On Friday morning, the National Weather Service was posting a 30% chance that Philly would get something measurable — technically 0.1 inches — Saturday night into Sunday, with about a 10%shot at an inch.
The weather service was expecting an inch at the Shore, but with a slight chance of several inches.
Forecasters are certain that a storm is going to blow up off the Southeast coast as frigid air that is penetrating all the way to Disney World interacts with the warm waters of the Gulf Stream.
Gusts at the Shore during the day Sunday might be as high as 40 mph as the storm could reach “bomb” status.
What exactly is a ‘bomb?’
Two brave souls endure the snow and winds from a meteorological bomb cyclone in Atlantic City in January 2022.
The technical definition of a meteorological bomb is a drop in central barometric pressure of 0.7 inches in a 24-hour period, about a 2% to 3% change in the weight of the air. That might not seem like much, but it’s a big deal if you’re a column of air.
Such a drop in pressure indicates a rapidly developing storm. Air is lighter in the centers of storms, as precipitation is set off by lighter warm air rising over denser cold air.
As a weather term, bombfirst appeared in an academic paper in 1980 by atmospheric scientists Frederick Sanders at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and John Gyakum at McGill University.
They found that the western Atlantic, in the proximity of the Gulf Stream, was one of two regions on the planet most prone to bombs. The other was the area near the Kuroshio Current in the far northwestern Pacific.
Both are massive reservoirs of warmer waters that interact with cold air coming off land masses. Some of the European settlers in the colonial era learned about the effects the hard way, experiencing mega-storms that were alien to areas in England.
Gyakum, who was Sanders’ graduate student at MIT, recalled Thursday that the duo took some blowback for using the word bomb.
But with a cyclone of such ferocity, the term was worth using to draw the public’s attention to potential impacts, which sometimes exceed those of hurricanes, Gyakum said.
He said he had no doubt this weekend’s storm would reach bomb status.
While any heavy snows from this storm are likely to bypass the Philly region, some accumulating snow is possible the middle of next week, Kines said, although nothing in a league with what happened Sunday.
When can Philly expect a thaw?
Temperatures during the coming workweek are due to moderate, at least slightly, with highs around freezing Monday through Thursday, 10 to 12 degrees warmer than what is expected this weekend.
The cold “certainly eases up,” Kines said.
But that 9.3 inches of snow and sleet that accumulated Sunday evidently has taken a particular liking to the region. As for when it will disappear, he said: “It’s going to take a while.”
The overall cold upper-air pattern looks to persist, said Paul Pastelok, AccuWeather’s long-range forecaster. And the extensive snow cover is going to have a refrigerant effect on temperatures.
So when will it warm up and go away?
“We’ll find out Monday,” Kines said. He was referring to Groundhog Day, of course, when Punxsutawney Phil will issue his extended forecast.
Nevertheless, he said, meteorologists will be on call if needed.
“It never hurts to get a second opinion,” he said.
Gumienny, who grew up in Port Richmond cheering on the Polish American String Band and has been the chief operating officer for the Eagles since 2023, called Sam Regalbuto, president of the String Band Association, on New Year’s Day to see if a makeup event would be possible. It would, but the string bands needed an outdoor venue to host their competition.
“I was like, ‘Wow, we have probably the biggest and most well-known outside venue in Philadelphia,” Gumienny said.
Gumienny and the Eagles were able to offer Lincoln Financial Field to host the 2026 String Band Spectacular. The event, which is open to the public, will begin at 2 p.m. at the Linc on Saturday.
Julianna Bonilla (middle) and Stanley Wells (right) kiss after being officially married by Hegeman String Band captain Kelliann Gallagher (left) during this year’s Mummers Parade.
The show will give the string bands an opportunity to perform their four-and-a-half minute shows in front of judges and compete.
“They’ve been preparing all year,” Gumienny said. “They prepare 12 months to perform this on New Year’s Day. It’s a Philadelphia tradition. So we try to make sure that they can take everything that they’ve practiced all year and show off.”
When Gumienny let the Eagles’ neighbors in the South Philly sports complex know that the Linc would be hosting the string bands, the other teams were eager to help. The Phillies, Flyers, and Sixers all made financial contributions to help stage Saturday’s show, and the Union chipped in from Chester to help cover some costs.
“The other sports teams were like, ‘How can we contribute? How can we be a part of it?’” Gumienny said. “There are costs associated, obviously, with doing this. … A lot of people don’t understand all the costs that go on behind the scenes. And, obviously, the string bands [are] on, call it a tight budget. So we wanted to do whatever we can.”
The bands will perform on a stage on the Eagles sideline. The string bands will play toward the crowd, which will be seated in the lower level on the western side of the stadium. Gumienny said he’s estimating between 8,000 and 10,000 spectators will come to the Linc for the showcase, despite the cold weather in the forecast.
However, one of the 14 bands, Avalon String Band, said it is withdrawing from the event due to the weather. It is unclear if others will join them.
“With extreme cold predicted for this weekend, our top priority is the health and safety of our members, and the forecasted conditions may put them at risk,” the band posted on Facebook.
“I think it just highlights Philadelphia,” Gumienny said. “The spirit of Philadelphia, the pride of Philadelphia, the passion … The pride and passion of Philadelphia always shines, and I think things like the Eagles, our local sports teams, are always highlighted in this. And then, obviously, things like the Mummers parade that really coincide with what Philadelphia is.”
Former Eagles center Jason Kelce pauses during his colorful Super Bowl parade speech on the Art Museum steps while dressed in Mummers attire.
While all 14 string bands were able to march during the parade on New Year’s Day, the weather forced them to abandon their planned routines, and sent five people to the hospital. The postponement was the first in the parade’s 125-year history. Saturday’s event will give the bands an opportunity to show off their originally planned routines, which take months of planning and preparation.
“I’ve had a member of the Quaker City String Band reach out and just say, ‘Look, thank you so much, we put a lot of hard work in to do this, and to be able to showcase it at the stadium is awesome,’” Gumienny said. “It’s been super positive, and they’ve been super appreciative and such a good partner to work with. For us and our staff, we get to do something a little bit new and unique to us. But anything that shows off Philadelphia and shows off the stadium, we love it.”
For Gumienny, the chance to host the string bands is personal, too. In addition to his fond childhood memories of enjoying Port Richmond’s Polish American String Band, his late father-in-law was a captain of the Harrowgate String Band.
“Back as a little kid, I used to remember either going down to the parade or watching it on TV,” Gumienny said. “It doesn’t get much more Philly than the Mummers.”
Spectators looking to attend the String Band Spectacular can purchase general admission tickets through Ticketmaster. The event will be broadcast by WFMZ-TV, the same channel that broadcasts the parade on New Year’s Day.
The multimillionaire became a murderer on Jan. 26, 1996. That part is known.
But why John du Pont shot and killed Dave Schultz, an Olympic champion freestyle wrestler who was living and working on du Pont’s Newtown Square estate, is still a mystery.
His great-great-great-grandfather was Eleuthere Irenée du Pont de Nemours, who founded the Wilmington chemicalgiant.
The most notable title of the du Pont heir’s life was sports enthusiast.
He transformed his 800-acre estate, known as Foxcatcher Farm, into a world-class athletic training facility. He opened the facility to athletes and their families so they had a place to stay while wrestlers, like Schultz, could prepare for major competitions.
In 1996, Schultz, a 1984 Olympic gold medalist, and his family stayed there while he trained for that year’s Summer Olympics.
But even before the run-up to the Summer Games, du Pont’s behavior had become increasingly strange.
Conviction
His sister-in-law, Martha du Pont, said they expected something like this to happen.
Foxcatcher’s overseer had been abusing cocaine and alcohol, and had been walking around with loaded guns for several years.
During angry outbursts, he would even threaten athletes with guns.
But why he pointed a .44-caliber revolver at the 36-year-old Schultz during an argument on the estate’s grounds and fired three times will forever be a mystery.
Du Pont holed up in his mansion for two days before surrendering to police after his heat was cut off during an especially cold weekend.
On Feb. 25, 1997, he was ruled guilty but mentally ill, and convicted of third-degree murder.
He offered no explanation for his behavior, only excuses.
He was sentenced to 13 to 30 years in prison.
Du Pont died in prison at age 72 on Dec. 9, 2010, four years before an award-winning film starring Steve Carell about the incident would hit theaters.
Nearly 30 years after his conviction, he is the only member of the Forbes 400 richest Americans to have been convicted of murder.
Nancy Schultz, who witnessed the shooting, said she never understood why her husband was killed. And she was struck by something du Pont never did.
If you would’ve told Solange Mota two years ago that her cheerleading squad would go on to make history on the national level … she would believe it.
“Honestly, we knew we were going two years ago,” said Mota, 29. “We kept saying, ‘We’re going to Disney; we’re going to Disney.’ I think the biggest obstacle about it was financials. It takes a lot of money to get them there because you have to go to camp. After camp, you have to make it to regionals.
“It’s kind of their way of filtering out teams before you get to nationals, and that was our biggest problem. We know the girls can do it. But how are we going to make this happen?”
Now, thanks to a whole lot of resilience — and a $30,000 grant from Mastery Schools — Mastery Charter School at Smedley, which serves predominantly Black and Latino students, will be the first inner-city public school to compete at the Universal Cheerleaders Association nationals in Orlando, it says. (A Philadelphia public high school, George Washington High School, competed in the 2023 NCA finals in Dallas, finishing 10th and starring in a documentary about their journey.)
“There’s privilege in that,” Mota said. “But there’s also a weight. When you’re the first of anything and when you have a privilege to do something, there’s always a sense of responsibility.
“You’re seeing that it’s Catholic schools, it’s private schools, but the demographic is all the same. So, the biggest thing that we talk about with the girls is that we’re going out there, not only as an all-Black and brown team, but also as the first Philadelphia inner-city elementary school. I think the girls feel a sense of pride in that.”
The team, known as Bulldog Blitz, will compete in the junior high intermediate division of UCA’s National School Spirit Championship.
Mota, a former competitive cheerleader and first grade teacher at Mastery Smedley, started the squad with Ana Rosario, 29, in 2021. It started as an after-school program, but a year later, it became an official competitive cheerleading team consisting of 22 girls ranging from first to sixth grade.
The school educates 737 kindergarten through sixth grade students in the city’s Frankford section.
Some of the girls on the team have been with the program throughout its five years, including 11-year-old Malayah Bell. In her final year with the team, she’ll finally be competing on the national stage.
“Since it started, I never really thought that it was going to be something big,” Bell said. “I thought it was just going to be an after-school program where we just had fun. Until I noticed that the cheer team can really do big things.”
The age gap between some of the girls could be seen as a challenge. However, Mota says it works perfectly with their big sister, little sister program — pairing a sixth grader with a first grader as a mentor.
“People are like, ‘How does a first grader get along with a sixth grader?’ Mota said. “But I’m like, ‘If you see it, it just works out.’ Our sixth graders are so loving and kind to our babies.”
That sisterhood has deepened through their practices. They typically train Tuesdays through Saturdays from 3:15 to 4:45 p.m. However, that schedule changed as they prepared for nationals, and their practice hours were extended to 6 p.m.
With a busy schedule ahead of them, the team took a 19-hour bus to Florida on Tuesday and arrived on Wednesday morning. Bell said they had one activity to help them pass the time: rapping.
“Honestly, I thought it was going to be a very long drive,” Bell said. “But it just felt really quick with us just playing and then going to sleep. It was fun. I liked the whole experience with my team just being with them for basically a day. We did a lot of rapping.”
Once they arrived, they had a day of fun with their families at the Disney parks before training for the next two days.
“It’s so heartwarming,” Rosario said. “As a former cheerleader, I’ve come as a spectator with my cousins that competed. But I’ve never got the chance to compete. So, just watching them live out a dream and be a part of this opportunity just makes me super emotional.”
The Smedley team first had to advance out of the regional competition before clinching its spot in nationals.
Mastery Smedley will take the stage on Saturday for the first round of nationals. If they score high enough, they’ll make it into the finals on Sunday. Although winning is one of the goals entering the competition, Mota is focused on only one thing.
“My biggest thing is just watching them come out on that stage,” Mota said. “You know, watching their smiles. Like, this is everything that they worked for. So just watching it all piece together, this is why we’ve done everything that we have done. Watching the girls, seeing our school name and it saying Mastery Charter Smedley Elementary, Philadelphia, Pa. That’s a first. It’s going to leave me starstruck.”
However, Bell has her eye set on something else.
“I’m looking forward to the white jackets when we win,” Bell said.
Think you know your news? There’s only one way to find out. Welcome back to our weekly News Quiz — a quick way to see if your reading habits are sinking in and to put your local news knowledge to the test.
Question 1 of 10
A pair of topiary bears went viral for their pose outside a Southwest Philly strip club. How much did the owner of Sin City Cabaret Nightclub pay for the bawdy bears?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
The 8-foot bears cost $18,000. They were designed by celebrity topiary artist Joe Kyte, whose 2-acre topiary garden in Tellico Plains, Tenn. has churned out larger-than-life dragons, Formula 1 cars, and semi-realistic bottles of booze for clients ranging from Legoland and Ferrari to Absolut Vodka since 1992.
Question 2 of 10
D.C. bagel chain Call Your Mother is opening its first Philadelphia location in Fishtown. What color are they painting the building?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Most of the building will be painted pink, the owners say. The expansion comes amid a bagel boom in the Philly area, including viral bagel chain PopUp Bagels coming to town and Bart’s Bagels of West Philly expanding. Penny’s Bagels is coming to Haddonfield this year, as well.
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Question 3 of 10
RJ Smith, the 21-year-old chef who has established a reputation doing pop-ups as Ocho Supper Club, is taking on a six-month residency at the restaurant space here:
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Smith’s Ocho Supper Club will begin a six-month residency at the Rittenhouse Hotel on Feb. 1, taking over the Scarpetta space ahead of construction on the Ruxton, a steakhouse from Atlas Restaurant Group due to open in 2027. Ocho’s run is expected to continue through July 26 — a month after Smith graduates from Drexel’s culinary program.
Question 4 of 10
Which 57-year-old Philadelphia dive bar is both responsible for popularizing the Citywide and hosting the city's longest-running drag show?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Scads of Philadelphians and passers-through have whiled hours away at Bob and Barbara’s, the 57-year-old South Street institution. The dive popularized Philly’s citywide: a PBR and shot of Jim Beam. It also hosts Philly’s longest-running drag show. It’s a bar for absolutely everyone and anyone, which readers love.
Question 5 of 10
Philly-born rapper Chill Moody has a new children’s book out. It’s all about Gia and her magical ___:
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
The rapper wants Gia, the protagonist who rocks a red golf tee and wields magical golf clubs, to inspire more Black and brown children to take up golf. And be the next Dora, the Explorer.
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Philadelphia’s African American Museum is showcasing six costumes from a popular movie as part of a traveling exhibit. Which film are the costumes from?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Ruth E. Carter's designs for Michael B. Jordan and the Sinners cast are a part of the museum's 250th birthday celebration, and will be on display through September. That includes Smoke and Stack’s (twins played by Jordan) memorable 1930s-era three-piece suits, with complementary fedora and newsboy cap, time pieces, and tiepins.
Question 7 of 10
Stephanie Stronsick of Berks County is intentionally housing, rescuing, and rehabilitating this animal — that is considered a pest by some — inside her home.
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Stronsick is the founder and executive director of Pennsylvania Bat Conservation and Rehabilitation (PA Bat Rescue), a nonprofit that underwent a major overhaul last year. She’d like the bats to leave, ideally, but only after they’ve healed. Currently, the facility is treating over 100 bats for injuries and illness.
Question 8 of 10
What activity does the University of Delaware's new president take part in with students and staff?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
On Thursdays at 7 a.m., Laura Carlson, faculty, staff, and students run a five-kilometer loop through campus. Typically, 10 to 20 people show. “Rain or shine, we run down to the track on South Campus, loop the track and come back,” said Carlson, 60, who began the treks as interim president last summer and is continuing them in her permanent role, which started earlier this month.
Question 9 of 10
A Super Bowl ad that’s already being previewed will feature Lincoln, the bald eagle who flies over Birds games, befriending whom?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Lincoln, the 28-year-old bald eagle, will star alongside a Clydesdale in this year’s Budweiser Super Bowl LX spot titled “American Icons.” The ad follows Lincoln’s friendship with the iconic horse playing under the appropriate sounds of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird.” The 60-second in-game spot will air during the Super Bowl.
Question 10 of 10
Following a directive from the Trump administration, informational exhibits about slavery were removed by the National Park Service from the President’s House Site last week. The removal sparked outrage, national media coverage, and a lawsuit. As part of the city’s injunction, the fate of the removed panels has been revealed. What happened to them or where are they?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
The panels are being kept in storage at the National Constitution Center, according to a legal filing from the Trump administration. The exhibits will remain in the park service’s custody at the center, down the street from the President’s House, pending the outcome of the City of Philadelphia’s federal lawsuit against the Department of Interior and the National Park Service for taking down the exhibits.
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Pete Buttigieg, former President Joe Biden’s transportation secretary and a potential presidential hopeful for 2028, has endorsed Democrat Bob Brooks, a firefighter running for Congress in the Lehigh Valley.
Buttigieg’s endorsement of Brooks,shared first with The Inquirer, illustrates the political importance of the Lehigh Valley, a national bellwether.
Democrats see the 7th Congressional District as one of a limited number of flippable Republican-held seats in the 2026 midterms. It’s also notable that Buttigieg, who could once again be on the national stage in 2028, is weighing into politics in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state.
“People are seeking leaders who understand their lives and fight for their needs,” Buttigieg said in a news release, noting Brook’s experience as a firefighter, union leader, and snowplow driver.
“He understands the urgency of lowering costs because he’s lived it – working long hours, juggling jobs, and fighting for a paycheck that actually covers the basics,” Buttigieg added. “It’s a perspective Washington needs more of, and I’m proud to endorse him.”
This undated photo provided by Bob Brooks for Congress in August 2025 shows Bob Brooks, president of the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association. (Bob Brooks for Congress via AP)
In addition to Buttigieg, Brooks has also received the backing of Gov. Josh Shapiro (another potential 2028 candidate), Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), various unions, and other elected officials.
Brooks said in the news release that Buttigieg’s endorsement “means a great deal.”
“He’s focused on listening to new voices and making government work for everyday people at a time when too many feel shut out and left behind,” Brooks said. “It’s an honor to have him on board as we fight to build a Congress that looks like and works for the people it serves.”
President Donald Trump has endorsed Mackenzie (and every other congressional Republican in Pennsylvania except Fitzpatrick) and Vice President JD Vance swung through the district in December.
But Trump may not be the boon for Mackenzie he was two years ago.
Trump made his biggest gains in the state in 2024 in the Lehigh Valley and Northeastern Pa., but recent interviews with voters and polling data suggests his support in the region could be dwindling heading into the midterms.
Meeting for the first time since Superintendent Tony B. Watlington presented his sweeping facilities plan, Philadelphia’s school board heard an outpouring of angst Thursday night from community members upset over 20 proposed school closures.
“Closing schools ruins families and neighborhoods, especially Black, brown, immigrant and working-class communities,” said Caren Bennicoff, a veteran teacher at Ludlow Elementary in North Philadelphia, one of the schools targeted for closure. “A facilities dashboard can’t measure what a school means to children.”
Watlington said the plan represented a “once in a lifetime, significant opportunity” for the city to modernize schools.
Prior to the meeting, more than 50 people gathered in the bitter cold outside Philadelphia School District headquarters, waving signs and shouting into bullhorns to show their displeasure with Watlington’s proposal.
Emily Brouder, 23, of West Philadelphia, Penn student and intern at Lankenau High School, holds a sign that says “Closing Schools Is Trash.”
Some of the demonstrators warned that removing children from their neighborhood schools would be traumatizing to already vulnerable kids.
“These schools are another home for these families,” said Margarita Davis-Boyer, president of the Lankenau High School Home & School Association. She said schools are a place where kids can get a meal, see a friendly face, and feel safe, especially when home may not offer the same reprieve.
“It’s just an injustice,” she said. Lankenau, the city’s environmental magnet school, would close under the plan, becoming an honors program inside Roxborough High School.
A strong Lankenau contingent packed both the rally and the board meeting, which happened immediately afterward.
LeeShaun Lucas, a Lankenau senior, is upset the school might close.
“To me, closing Lankenau doesn’t make sense,” Lucas said.
Lankenau’s campus is unique in the city — set against a wildlife preserve and a farm, a stream, and a forest.
Lucas has studied how to make the Schuylkill healthier by studying mussels, he said. He’s taking a dual enrollment GIS class — the only such high school in the city to offer such an opportunity, school officials believe.
That exposure has shaped Lucas, he said.
“I truly believe that voting to close Lankenau Environmental would be a mistake,” Lucas said. “Please vote to save Lank so that others may benefit from the type of learning that is only possible at Lankenau Environmental.”
Superintendent Tony B. Watlington (center), Board President Reginald L. Streater, and Board member Sarah-Ashley Andrews at the School board meeting Jan. 29.
Disparate impact
Ryan Pfleger, an education researcher, said if underutilization and facility condition truly shaped Watlington’s recommendation, the burden of closure would fall roughly evenly across racial groups.
But that’s not the case with Watlington’s plan.
“Black students are overrepresented, roughly 1.6 times more likely to be enrolled in schools slated for closure,” Pfleger said. “Fifteen of 20 schools proposed for closure are majority Black. White students are underrepresented, about four times less exposed than expected. The schools slated for closure are also disproportionately low income.”
Pfleger’s conclusions match an Inquirer analysis of the closure data.
The plan, Pfleger concluded, “does not rectify educational injustice.”
Conwell shows up
A strong contingent of Conwell supporters also told the board they were unhappy with the plan to close their school, a magnet middle school in Kensington.
Conwell has just over 100 students in a building that can hold 500. But Erica Green, the school’s principal, said it’s worth saving.
“Conwell for many years has been the cornerstone in the Kensington community, a place where students flourish, where leaders are born; alumni included leaders in government, education, law, media, public safety, and professional sports: Living proof that diamonds truly are in our backyard,” Green said. “Times have changed, but excellence at Conwell has remained the same.”
Conwell is celebrating its 100th anniversary and has been the recipient of public and private donations to advance its building conditions and program offerings.
“Do not let the almighty dollar drive a choice to remove a beautifully designated historic school and beautifully gifted young people,” an impassioned Green said. “The essence, prestige and impact of Conwell Magnet Middle School cannot be duplicated.”
Priscilla Rodriguez, whose two sons attended Conwell, worries about the implications for families that rely on it for stability.
“When a school closes, families don’t just adjust. They struggle,” Rodriguez said. Conwell families “are already dealing with a lot. You won’t make it any better by closing Conwell.”
An incomplete plan?
Katy Egan came to the board with a long list of questions, none of which were addressed in Watlington’s plan: Which schools will be modernized? When? How? How will displaced students get to their new schools? What’s happening to students with special education plans forced to leave their schools? How do you plan to keep kids safe while merging schools?
Egan, a member of Stand Up for Philly Schools, called the blueprint “a 25% plan.”
But, she said, “we deserve more than 25%, and our students deserve everything.”
Community members can weigh in on the plan in the coming weeks at meetings around the city, and Watlington is scheduled to formally present it to the board on Feb. 26.
No vote will happen in February though, said board president Reginald Streater, who declined to weigh in on the merits of the plan until it’s handed over to the board.
In other board news
In other board matters, Watlington said he would soon ask to eliminate half days from the district’s calendar entirely.
The news came as he detailed a slip in year-over-year student attendance: in December, 54% of students attended school 90% of the time, compared to 66% in December 2024. That’s the largest drop in Watlington’s superintendency, he said.
He attributed the challenges to a two-hour delay for snow, light attendance prior to winter break — and light attendance during a half day called for professional development.
Watlington said at next month’s board meeting, he’ll propose amending the 2026-27 schedule to remove half days entirely.
“Half days in the calendar do not serve us well,” he said.
The board also installed three new student board representatives.
The non-voting members are: Brianni Carter, from the Philadelphia High School for Girls; Ramisha Karim, from Northeast High; and Semira Reyes, from the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts.
